Strawberries & Cream

A Fabulous Family Favorite!
We used to wait all year for the few weeks that our local cupcake shop would sell this delicious treat. It is just too hard so we created our own recipe and LOVE enjoying it at home.

Ingredients:
- 2 lbs fresh strawberries
- 3 cups Half & Half
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions:
- cut tops off strawberries and slice or dice
(I use my Ninja to get quick even slices)
- pour half & half in blender while adding sugar in stages as you whip it together.
- Combine in a large bowl and enjoy

Substitutes:
-Sliced peaches, other berries are also divine
- If you use frozen fruit in the blender with the milk and sugar mix, you create a soft icecream.

Merry Cranberry Orange Smoothie

This is one of my favorite Christmastime smoothies/drinks. It is healthful, packed with vitamin C and antioxidants, and satisfies that snacking craving. 
All you need is a handful of fresh Cranberries, some Orange Juice concentrate to taste, a few Ice Cubes, then fill the rest with Water. I use my Nutri Ninja to blend a single serving.
It is tart but I love it!

Strawberry Cream Smoothie

Another Smoothie favorite of my family.  This one fits more in the dessert category than a healthful meal since we use ice cream, but it is GOOD.
I used my Blendtec and did a full jar so the measurements are for quite a bit since my family is so large but you can modify it as you wish.  I just love that about smoothies, everything is to taste and relative, easy peasy!

Strawberry Cream Smoothie:

- 3 cups milk
- 1 whole peeled banana
- 4 scoops vanilla ice cream or vanilla frozen yogurt
- 1/2 package instant vanilla pudding powder
- 2-3 cups frozen strawberries

Use the smoothie setting and it comes out beautifully.

Keep Bananas Fresh Longer

If you take your bananas apart when you get them home, they'll ripen slower.  I just don't know how you keep them from bruising if they aren't hanging from a bunch.  Also, don't put them in a bag, or they will ripen faster.

Berry Orange Julius

I have been experimenting with smoothies lately and this is a mix that is a favorite with my husband. I call it...

Berry Orange Julius:
- Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate (6-8 oz)
- Ice (1-2 cups)
- Milk (enough to fill the blender half way) (soy and powdered also work well)
- Tang Powder ( 1-2 Tablespoons)
- Berry Go-Gurt (one tube)
Mix it all together in the blender and your done.

I do it all to taste so I don't have measurements but for those of you who can't stand recipes without them, I included approximations.

If you don't have a Berry Go-Gurt, then a cup of frozen mixed berries can be used instead.
It is delicious!

Keep Cut Fruit Fresh

This tip goes back to my days in food service.

Tip:
When using cut apples and bananas, dip them in pineapple juice and they keep their color much longer.

"Old or Bruised Apples" Tip

So, I tried this recipe posted by my sister earlier:
Old or Bruised Apples
Wow, it is delicious!

Tip:
Instead of going the way of apple sauce, however, I thickened up the juice with some corn starch and left the apple chunks as they were and it made a wonderful pie filling. You could top ice cream with it, cheese cake, cake or eat it as it is. It was wonderful.

- Once you have followed the steps in the previous post linked to above:
- Wait until the apples are as tender as you want them to be first
- mix 1T cornstarch with 1T cold water in a small bowl
- Stir this mix into the crock pot with the apples
- Cook for about 10 or so minutes more until thickened

Your Done!
An easy delicious treat.

Old or Bruised Apples

I get a bunch of old, bruised or starting to shrivel apples every couple of months. These are the ones that got bumped around in a lunch box and brought home uneaten or have something else wrong with them and no one wants to eat them (not even me).

Just gather them all up and wash them. Chop them up (big dices) including the peels. You do not have to peel them. Throw away any really bad spots and/or save out any really good ones for a snack. Throw the rest in a crock pot with a couple tablespoons of butter and some brown sugar and a little cinnamon. I like to put lemon juice in with it or use granny smith apples to get a sweet tart flavor. How much sugar and cinnamon depends on how many apples and your taste.

Cook in the crockpot on low 6 hrs or until done and it will be ready for snacks when the kids come home or you can pack it as applesauce for kids lunches. But, I like it warm best.

30 Minute Meal

From Mom:
Here is a dinner you can whip up in 30 minutes, if you have the ingredients.
Normally we have everything for it, except the walnuts - but I had some left over from Christmas as I didn't do as much holiday baking as I thought I would.

Shepherds Pie Grandma Lindeman Style

1 lb. hamburger browned w/ seasoning salt or salt & pepper
1/2 onion chopped - brown with the hamburger
add 1 can drained green beans
add 1 small can tomato soup

While the hamburger is cooking,
boil 2 cups water - when it comes to a boil add
1 cup mil
2 tb butter and turn off heat
2 c. instant mashed potatos - we use our food storage ones

Pour hamburger mixture into small brown pan
top with mashed potatoes and grated cheese
Heat in the oven until cheese is melted and sauce bubbly.

While the Shepherds pie is baking, you can make the salad


Waldorf Salad

1 stalk of celery per adult person - so I used 3
1 apple per person (adult) - so I used 3
wash and dice
1/3 c. chopped wallnuts
1/3 c raisins
combine all these together
1/2 c. miracle whip
1/4 c sugar
1tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vinegar
mix the dressing together and pour over the salad and then stir the salad until coated.

YUM!
All done in 30 minutes

Old Bananas

In my family nobody likes old, browning bananas.
I absolutely hate to waste food. But, sometimes I don't have time to peel, slice, and store in the freezer left over bananas. That does work well and you can choose to make smoothies or whatever.

If I don't have time to deal with them "properly" I just throw them in the freezer right in the peel. Then, when I have two or three and want to make banana bread, I set them out in a bowl to partially thaw.

Just cut off the end and the insides slide right out (like a push up pop only easier). They taste just as well blended for banana bread, etc.

Lemon Juice

To get the most out of your lemon:

- microwave it for 15 seconds before juicing to get twice the juice